NBTY swings to annual profit of $74M

NBTY Inc., the Ronkonkoma-based maker of vitamins and nutritional supplements, swung from a loss to a profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, it said Tuesday.

The company said its net income was $74.4 million, compared with a loss of $44.1 million a year earlier.

Chief financial officer Dipak Golechha credited a refocusing on the company's "top brands, core businesses, core countries and core capabilities."

Sales rose by a fraction of a percent, to $3.2 billion for the fiscal year.

NBTY was acquired and taken private by the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C., in October 2010. NBTY reports its financial results publicly because NBTY's debt is publicly traded.

In August, NBTY said it would acquire the British producer of skin care products Dr. Organic Ltd. for the equivalent of $85.9 million.

The Dr. Organic brand, first sold exclusively at NBTY's Holland & Barrett retail chain in the United Kingdom, was brought to the United States in 2013 under the Organic Doctor brand name.

It was sold exclusively through NBTY's Vitamin World retail division.

NBTY manufactures, markets, distributes and retails vitamins, specialty supplements and sports/active nutrition products in the United States and has operations worldwide.

As of Sept. 30 it employed about 13,100 worldwide, including 2,700 on Long Island.